Yoan Moncada are you bullish? Wondering what I can expect if acquiring in a fantasy league for the next 3-4 years. Will he hit higher than .220? 15 HR/30SB? Or is there more there?(D from Fresno)

I'd be really surprised if he only hit .220. That swing is absolutely gorgeous. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that he's the next Robinson Cano (prospects will break your heart and all that), but he's really good. (Nicolas Stellini)

What do you think of the future short and long term of Robinson Cano? He tore it up the 2nd half of last year and just went through a sports hernia operation. Some say a move to first although he looked OK at second last year to me.What now? (caseyj15 from Medford, OR)

I think Robinson Cano is still one of the best offensive players in baseball, and a fine second baseman. Someday he'll need to move over to first or DH, but not now. I love him. And I'm biased. (Christopher Crawford)

How often does familiarity play into deciding where a player goes? Will they stay where they're at even if it means say 10-20% less money?(Dave from Pittsburgh)

For some players it's everything, look at Cliff Lee. For some players it means nothing, look at Robinson Cano. For me? Get what you can while you can. These players only get a limited window to have a career. And even though it is a huge sum of money, when it's gone it's gone. Now I'm not saying if team x is offering 100 million and team y is offering 105 million to uproot your family to take the money and run but if the team you're on is offering 35 million and team x is offering 50 million dollars to move your family in my estimation you take it. It's 15 million dollars there is almost no way to make that up in tax breaks or endorsements. I could go on and on discussing this topic but the short answer is it depends on the player and situation. (Joshua Kusnick)

Would you sell me high in an OPB league or will i keep enough value moving forward?(Brian Dozier from Min)

I got dinged on Twitter for saying I wouldn't trade Brian Dozier for Robinson Cano. So you might say I'm high on Dozier. It's not that I necessarily believe Cano will be worse than Dozier but that I could see the two being comparable ROS. Dozier's numbers over the last calendar year: 26/93/70/23/.242/.324. He'll hurt you in OBP but he does enough every where else that he's legit, and will be one of the better 2B in the bigs. (Mike Gianella)

Who are some of your favorite buy low candidates to target that some owners might be ready to overreact to their slow starts on? Thanks Mike
(DanDaMan from Sea Cliff)

Based on some of the questions I'm getting here, Adam Jones. Edwin Encarnacion if it's not too late. Robinson Cano if people are afraid that the power won't come back at all (though I do think he'll have a down year). (Mike Gianella)

I traded Bryce Harper for Robinson Cano and Justin Upton in a dynasty league. I had a need at 2B, so this deal was a slam dunk right? Or at least until Harper hits 50 bombs (CharlieWerner from Manayunk PA)

Probably a slam drunk for the next two or three years and the cause of much internal turmoil on your part from 2017 on. But that's fine. (Ben Carsley)

16 team dynasty league, our batting cats are runs, homers, RBI, walks, K's, steals, average, and OPS, and Pitching cats are K's, QS, wins, saves, holds, era, whip, and k/bb. I got two offers for my 1-1 pick which would be tanaka. Edwin Encarnacion and the 9th pick in the draft or my 1-1 and Michael Pineda for Cano and a reliever or something. Which is the better offer?(Connor from Alaska)

The first offer (Encarnacion and the pick) is better. EE is pretty close to the top first basemen in the majors while that nine pick should be pretty sweet, even in a keeper. Robinson Cano is obviously really good but I feel like you're getting a 2 for 1 with the first deal and a 1-for-1 with the second one. (Mike Gianella)

I like that trade for you a little bit, although a lot depends on what your needs are, whether or not you're on a competitive footing for 2014, and how deep your league is. In a really deep league, that's a great trade for you; in a shallower league it's close. I like Baez a lot so I think that if Pujols can put up "only" a 25 HR/90 RBI year that you still did the right thing here. I think Cano will be fine in Seattle, but that's still a good deal of value you're getting in return. (Mike Gianella)

Does Cano's fantasy value drop at all playing in Safeco? Or does positional scarcity make this irrelevant?(Alex from Anaheim)

Hi Alex:

Robinson Cano's value drops a little bit moving from Yankee Stadium to Safeco. The HR overlay between the two parks shows that Cano only loses one HR, but I do think that over the course of 81 games that park effects will take more like 3-5 HR away from him over the course of a full season. I think the larger impact will come with the weaker line-up and the move from the AL East to the AL West. Cano will play in Seattle and also have road games in Anaheim and Oakland and will be in pitchers' parks much more than he was in the AL East. That will impact him. He also will score fewer runs and drive in less in a weaker line-up. This drop shouldn't be overstated, though. You are probably talking about dropping him 4-5 slots at most in a draft format and $2-4 in an auction format. He is still an elite second baseman and should be treated as such until his performance shows otherwise. (Mike Gianella)

But those are boring answers. If you want to know which players I might target at some point in a draft or auction, I seem to like Harper, Choo, Yan Gomes, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager a bit more than the average person.

What kind of player could Alexander Guerrero be? What's his ceiling? Thanks!(Brett from Kansas City)

Not sure, and not sure that anyone knows. For anyone who doesn't know, Guerrero is the Cuban player the Dodgers just signed to a four-year deal to play second base. He's played in Cuba, he's played well there, he's not that tall and he's kinda stocky. How will that translate to MLB? I don't know, and the Dodgers don't either. Obviously they think he can play the position defensively or they wouldn't have given him $28 million.

More significant, at least for this off-season, is what this means for Robinson Cano who has seemed like he'd be willing to sign with another team if the money was there. The Dodgers may have been the best chance for the money to be there. Maybe the Dodgers will still give Cano a go though, after all they have four high priced outfielders, so what's two high priced second basemen? More likely though, Cano is going to have to find his $300 million elsewhere, which maybe means New York. (Matthew Kory)

Read recent reports that put a gerthy grade 8 on Robinson Cano's actual #rig. Power described as violent and thunderous. A rival AL scout recommended a bottle of wine and doughnut pillow to any receipient of Robbie's vicious hacks. Hit tool was given a 8 due to his pure, silky stroke. Speed was given a 6 but played-up in game action due to Cano's unrivaled cunning; said he "really turns it on when it counts."
How will this affect his contract negotiations this off-season?(Ryan from Buffalo Grove)

I'd trade one of my kids before I traded away Billy Hamilton in a league. For him to take Hamilton out of the deal and ask you to throw in Cano is rather entertaining. Who does he think you are, Jeff Loria? (Jason Collette)

I'm drinking the Cub Kool-Aid and trusting Theo/Jed to get in done in building the farm system. However, what potential free agent splashes do you potentially seeing the Cubs make next offseason to speed up the major league team on-field success as well?(Mike from Cubdom)

I'm a believer in the Theo/Jed biumvirate (like a triumvirate but less) as well, but I'm not sure I can predict who will hit the free agent market next off-season. The thing I can say is that the Cubs will need pitching and outfielders. I guess, to answer your question though, I would love to see them make a real run at Robinson Cano. If the Yankees let him reach free agency I think they'll be surprised by how much money he'd command and I think if the Cubs can show some adequacy on the field this year they might be in on him. (Matthew Kory)

With the reality that Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano are Free Agents in the next calendar year, why don't the Yankees considering dealing Grandy and/or prospects for Justin Upton? They may be afraid of the 189 MIL tax threshold, but its very questionable that they don't have any interest or inclination of acquiring Justin Upton to fill Swisher's role.(jlarsen from chicago)

I'm sure the Yankees have some interest in acquiring Upton. I don't think Arizona would be that interested in Granderson in an Upton package, though, and I'm not sure the Yankees have the prospects. Maybe Gardner plus all their prospects. And yeah, Upton actually makes money beyond 2013, which makes Hal Steinbrenner scared. (Ben Lindbergh)

Are the Yankees looking for stopgaps or real solutions in the infield? The commitment to avoiding the luxury tax is going to force them into some compromises, so what corners are going to be cut?(Cris E from St Paul, MN)

Thanks for the question, Cris E. Based on Cashman's comments yesterday, his current targets are stopgaps, because he's hopeful that Alex Rodriguez will be able to return to third base when he's healthy. The other considerations are, as you mentioned, the luxury-tax cap of $189 million, and the looming extension talks with Robinson Cano. For those reasons, as well as the nature of the job with the Yankees, where the player they sign could start as the full-time 3B and then be asked to transition into a utility role, I think you're much more likely to see someone inked to a one-year deal. (Daniel Rathman)

I've never had much luck predicting this. My gut tells me Robinson Cano goes back-to-back, but if every instinct I've had is wrong, then the opposite must be right. Cano is a left-handed hitting AL infielder, so it's going to be a right-handed hitting NL outfielder. The pick: Andrew McCutchen. (Daniel Rathman)

Is Robinson Cano firmly on a HOF track, or does he have to exceed expectations (longer peak, longer career, etc.) to get there?(edwardarthur from Illinois)

I wouldn't say he's firmly on a Hall of Fame track, but he's got a reasonable chance. He'll end his age-29 season with over 1,400 hits, 170-180 homers, a healthy batting line (.308/.349/.501 now), 4 All-Star appearances, and so on. If he just stays healthy and productive on a winning team, he'll be in pretty good shape.

That said he doesn't look as strong from a JAWS standpoint; his 29.7 WARP is less than half the average HOF second baseman (64.7), and he's only got four seasons above 4.0 WARP. Even if you project the average of those four seasons across seven years, that's a peak score of 34.0, well short of the Hall average of 43.2; even seven years at his absolute peak WARP of 5.5 would fall short at 38.5. He's going to have to put together a monster year or two to improve his standing in that regard. (Jay Jaffe)

HR Derby team captains are Robinson Cano and Matt Kemp. Cano has already said he's inviting Granderson.(Chris from work)

Really? How did they decide that? And do they know that Kemp has only played in two games since May 13?

Granderson deserves to be on the team, but so do Adam Dunn, Josh Hamilton, Bautista, Encarnacion, Trumbo, etc. My guess is it's Cano, Granderson, Dunn, and Butler, unless one of those two decline the invitation. I'd say that'd be a pretty entertaining derby. (Larry Granillo)

Do you think the Yankees' self-imposed budgetary austerity, by their own standards, survives the trading deadline?(Blake from SF)

The austerity has to do with getting to $189 million for 2014 - they're not going to do much in the way of long-term deals besides extending Robinson Cano and perhaps Curtis Granderson before then. They have plenty of resources to take on big salaries for the remainder of the season if needs arise, though it's tough to envision exactly what that would entail right now.

Re: Mike Morse - it's now been 472 PAs of .867 OPS over two seasons. How much longer would he need? Or is it so far out of the realm of possibility because of his age? He's got a career OPS of .820, and 30% of those PAs came from his .718 age 23 season.(Charlie from Bethesda, MD)

Well, I like what he's done. He's hit .300/.352/.511 since that season you mention in 608 scattered PAs. He has real value given that he can move around the field and knock the ball. But his 39 walks/140 strikeouts makes me nervous about the inevitable cold streaks or bad BABIP stretch, because players of this model, be they Robinson Cano or Alfonso Soriano, when they go cold, they just contribute nothing. Put that together with his age and that he should be up for arb after the season and I think, "Go fish." (Steven Goldman)

Happy ginger ale, dude. I'm partial to Robinson Cano, but I can't complain about Hamilton winning given that the Rangers had essentially sewn up the AL West when he went down, and that Cano and Miguel Cabrera did little to distinguish themselves in his absence. (Jay Jaffe)

Whither Robinson Cano in the next two or three years? Off a cliff like Baerga and Edgardo Alfonzo, a useful puzzle piece, or something greater?(Christopher from Nashville)

I think Cano is potentially great, but yes, the shelf-life for second basemen can be painfully short, even for the best of them. I'll go with "something greater" for now, but that doesn't mean I think he'll still be tearing it up when he's 33. (Marc Normandin)

Taking the over or under on 0.5 MVPs for Robinson Cano in the next 5 years?(Donnie from Out of his element)

I'm going to take the under. He's been great this year, but it's pretty clear he won't get it given the big years by Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera. I would think there will always be a bulky first baseman to overpower him. (Steven Goldman)

Every team has its share of surprising performances, though, right? And how many of these are truly shocking over the sample size we're talking about? By the end of the season, Swisher probably won't be hitting .296, Pettitte won't have a sub-3.00 ERA, etc. If I had call one of those seasons the most "for real," I'd go with Hughes. (Ben Lindbergh)

How good is Robinson Cano at baseball? (Professor Thom from East Village)

Very, very, very good.

A couple of weeks ago I was hanging out watching a Yankees game with my friend Alex Belth of Bronx Banter, a great Yankees blog. We were marveling Cano's stat line - "Dude, he's hitting .370!" - when Alex, who's not really much of a stathead, asked me, "Is there a way you can quantify how locked in he is right now?"

I thought for a second, and then replied. "Yeah. HE'S HITTING .370!" Cracked us both up. (Jay Jaffe)

How much of Robinson Cano's hot start is just a BABIP spike? Any chance he maintains the added power?(jamin67038 from Wichita, KS)

From last October's Player Profile of Cano (which is actually the second one I've written):

"The difference for Cano between 2008 and 2009 is in the results, not the approach. What does that mean going forward for the Yankee second baseman? Given how well he has hit in the second half each season—numbers that look a lot like his full 2009 campaign—it would make sense that Cano has a few years like 2009 in him. He is in his traditional peak-season period, after all, and 2008 was a campaign mostly marred by poor luck and some bad swings (OK, a lot of them). If he can keep his swing in check, and not succumb to the first-half woes that have plagued him for most of his career—seriously, Robbie, stop swinging at bad pitches outside and letting pitchers kill you inside; it'll work in April too, not just in August—then he should remain as productive as he's been for New York this year for at least the next few seasons."

I don't necessarily think all of this power boost is for real (he has a .347 ISO, which screams "Hi, I have 112 plate appearances") but it looks like his first-half struggles are over and done with, meaning he's a fantastic player in both head-to-head and roto leagues instead of just the latter. (Marc Normandin)

Whenever I hear someone singing the blues about Robinson Cano, I think of Horace Clarke. I was 7-years old when Clarke took over 2B for Bobby Richardson. The Yanks’ switch-hitting second baseman of the late 60s/early 70s - best known for breaking up no-hitters in the 9th inning three times in 1970, and rarely turning the double-play - actually had a fairly productive season in 1969 with career highs in nearly every offensive category. But what still blows my mind is his 9 – yes nine! – extra-base hits in 579 at-bats in 1968,
Compared to “Hoss,” Robinson Cano IS Rod Carew; heck compared to Clarke, Cano is LOU GEHRIG!!
(rich from nj)

The problem with Cano is that he's inconsistent, and as I have written many times, he kills you when he's cold. In contrast, let me offer Nick Swisher, who batted something like .150 in May but still had a .311 OBP because he took a ton of walks. Cano can be on a hot streak and still not produce a .311 OBP. (Steven Goldman)

Steve: Loved the book on Casey. There's nothing else like it. The Swisher trade is a great deal for which Cashman deserves a lot of credit-first of all in finding him, hadn't the Sox put him in the Witness Protection Program? But I digress. I do have the opinion that the Yankees must move on with Robinson Cano. While his trade value has been diminished, wait til you see what it is this time next year! Proposed replacements: (a) Available inexpensively: Mike Fontenot, who is a free agent. Available expensively: Jeff Kent (please NO!), Brian Roberts. Am I jumping the shark on Cano? (BeplerP from New York City)

Thank you, BeplerP, for reading Forging Genius and for the kind words. The question isn't whether you've jumped the shark on Cano, but whether Cano himself has jumped the shark (I've never heard jumping the shark used to signify that one might be ahead of the shark). I don't think he has, given his age and post-April rates of .297/.326/.448. The problem with Cano is that he seems like he doesn't care half the time. He's locked in for a week, and then he goes 0-for-20 swinging at first pitches and starts making careless plays in the infield. This makes him immensely frustrating to watch, not least of all to the Yankees themselves. How do you keep this guy locked in? They don't know, so the temptation is to make him someone else's problem--and it wouldn't be the end of the world. You could get a 2B who has lower highs but also higher lows, or lower batting averages but is better at getting on base. In that case, the decision to make a change depends on who you can get--the Yankees really need to stay focused on offense. But if your question is, "Will he rebound and improve his value?" I think yes, he will. (Steven Goldman)

Have we seen the best of Robinson Cano, or is this someone the Yankees can (and should) still build around?(mattymatty from Philly)

I think it's a bit early to give up on him, but its also worth remembering that second basemen as a group tend to peak earlier than players at any other position (see Nate Silver's work from a few years back). The Yankees' general dearth of young hitters, absence of options to replace him from within the system, and the danger of selling when his value is very low - all of this gives them little choice but to try and build around him. (Jay Jaffe)

What do you see the Cards doing this offseason. Is Furcal a good fit there, or is he out of their price range? What about a trade for Cano (maybe involving Ludwick...)?(blaseta from Calgary)

Ew. I'd rather have Ludwick, honestly, but you may be asking the wrong person. I'm not a fan of Robinson Cano, who seems to take half a season to get his swing in order so he can finish with an average line. I'd go for Furcal, because in spite of his price tag, he's the perfect kind of player for that lineup. He gets on base, and with the middle of the order sluggers they rely on so much, they could use the baserunners. (Marc Normandin)

How would you rate the job Girardi has done so far this year? Does he get a pass due to all the injuries? Or is he not the right fit for this team regardless. Some of my Yankee friends say the team is underachieving regardless because he's just too uptight a personality for a veteran club.(arfdolph from Antioch (Calif.))

I can't say that he's done an impressive jobâ€”his on-field decisions often leave something to be desiredâ€”but there's plenty of blame to go around, where the Yankees are concerned. I'd be less worried about Girardi being too uptight for the veteran players, than about the way youngsters like Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera have played under him. (Derek Jacques)

Ah, but the better question is, is it in the Yankees best interest to play Pudge as often as possible between now and the end of the year? According to Eddie B. over at Tiger Thoughts (who reverse engineered the Elias Rankings) Pudge is the top Type B catcher free agent and just a hair behind Ramon Hernandez for the last Type A spot. Since the Elias Rankings are based primarily on playing time and counting stats, it certainly gives the Yankees an incentive to try and sneak Pudge into that upgrade by giving him as much playing time as possible.(that they die like sheeple from teh Doomokratic Republik)

Interesting point. I'm willing to bet the Yankees aren't thinking that far ahead, or they have and concluded that Pudge is so far gone it's just not likely to happen. Again, let's see if things change after this series, if the Yankees acknowledge that their playoff chances are so remote as to not be worth chasing... Nice work by Robinson Cano robbing David Ortiz on the shift. I bet that's exactly how it looked when an infielder made a play on Ernie Lombardi back in the 30s. (Steven Goldman)

I saw a rumor that had Robinson Cano heading to LA for Derek Lowe and Matt Kemp. This reeks of a set up to acquire Washburn and Vidro from Seattle. Tell me that the Yanks don't plan on making Vidro their 2B?(Scott from NJ)

I'd consider that a genuine bit of Apple-flavored nonsense (Big or equine, not Mac), not simply because the Dodgers can't really afford to part with any starting pitching, but because they also have some guy named Kent. (Christina Kahrl)

Hey Steve, could you resolve a debate for me. Do you think the marginal advantage of replacing Melky with Gardner outweighs the resulting hit to the yankees chemistry? I tend to discount any such thing as "chemistry" but my buddy swears its key to maintaining a winning streak.(Chris from Jersey)

I think winning breeds chemistry more than the other way around. Maybe benching/trading Melky would bother the heck out of Robinson Cano, but we can worry about his POV when he has a .300 OBP again. (Steven Goldman)

Hi Steven .... let's move the discussion back to Jeter for a moment. Do you see ANY way ANYONE in the organization pulls him aside in the near future and says "your days as a shortstop are over"?
If so, what position could he possibly play and still make his bat worthwhile?
Side question/comment: before last night, I would have voted A-Rod for a Gold Glove this year ... man has he improved.(dianagramr from NYC)

I don't see it. I admire the man who has the guts to do it, but you know they're going to have to have the whole College of Cardinals in to approve the decision. In any case, someone has to be pushing him. There has to be an alternative, and right now that guy isn't in the organization, or if he his (um, Carmen Angelini?) he hasn't identified himself as the heir... Anyway, I don't see his bat carrying another position now. Maybe second base, but I don't know if the could hack it defensively, and the Yankees are set there, assuming Robinson Cano wakes up from his nightmare. (Steven Goldman)

Why do I keep reading about how much trouble the Yankees are in? Hasn't this been the story for three years running now? Slow start, fast finish. Do you see anything to make you think this year will be different from 2005-2007?(Joe from Tewksbury, MA)

Yes. Everybody in the lineup, including Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada is a year older, and with the exception of Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano, they're a year further away from their statistical primes, to say nothing about the fact that Cano looks pretty lost right now. The bench is weak even for a team that's done poorly in that area in the recent past. Seriously, I'd take Chili Davis, Darryl Strawberry, Luis Sojo and Ron Coomer circa 2008 over some of the stiffs they have lying around.

There's that, plus a weak pitching staff where the back of the rotation has been a thorough disaster thus far and the bullpen situation is considered so fragile that there's actually a question about whether they'll move Joba Chamberlain to a starting role this year. Add to that the fact that the AL East has gotten tougher and I think there's no longer any guarantee that the Yankees will contend, let alone win the division.

The other thing in play is the new manager. Through the early season debacles of the last few years, Torre was able to absorb the front office's slings and arrows and still give off a sense of calm confidence that things would eventually turn around. Girardi is protected from the barbs of Hank Steinbrenner at the moment -- his focus appears to be on forcing Brian Cashman out -- but Little Joe is the kind of guy who seems more likely to go Billy Martin bonkers as things get worse, and I don't think that's going to help. (Jay Jaffe)

how are cano's fielding stats?
does having jeter and cano up the middle hurt some of the yankee pitchers like wang?(jphan44 from NY)

In both 2006 and 2007 I had Robinson Cano doing well at +7.8 and +9.1 respectively. The system didn't like him in 2005 when he was -6.1.

That said, in SFR the infielders next to you definitely have an effect on your SFR. I think we saw that this year with Garrett Atkins where he rated "only" -3.5 when other systems have him way down there with Ryan Braun. (Dan Fox)

Robinson Cano's PECOTA? Does he project to be a high-variability player? Thanks!(Tony from Brooklyn, NY)

He's not particuarly high-variability. He's either going to be a pretty good ballplayer like Carlos Baerga or a really freakin' good ballplayer like ... someone better than Carlos Baerga. The scenarios where he crashes and burns are pretty much off the table at this point. (Nate Silver)